


Puppy love

by i_gaze_at_scully



Series: Dog Owner AU [5]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 19:58:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16898955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_gaze_at_scully/pseuds/i_gaze_at_scully





	Puppy love

“What do you think they’re doing?” She asks one day. Dust, unsettled, filters through the air and she almost sneezes.

“Dunno. But they better not touch my bed.”

“You have a bed?” It’s been a year and she’s yet to see this supposed bed.

“Yeah, in that room over there. I prefer the couch though.” She knows that, in fairness. She has spent her fair share of time on that old worn couch. The leather had begun to smell like home more quickly than she’d expected.

“Do you think–” She starts, but Dana interrupts her.

“Stella!” She commands, straining under the weight of a box that obscures her face from down here. “Quiet, girl. Scooch, please.”

“How polite,” Luna comments, settling down in her crate. Stella obliges, moving out of the way and following Luna over to the crate. She lies in front of it, her head resting on her paws to keep an eye on her human.

Mulder enters from the room in the back there, the room Stella’s never seen, with a much smaller box.

“Let me take that one, babe,” he offers, placing his box on the floor. Dana shifts the box to her hip and shakes her head.

“No, I got it. It’s not heavy, just awkwardly shaped. What’s in here anyway?”

“Some VHS’s, I think,” he replies, picking his box back up. Dana lifts her eyebrow and Mulder smiles. “Nothing from my old collection, don’t worry.”

They are in and out of the apartment, and with each trip the place gets emptier and emptier.

“Luna,” Stella barks. “I think you’re leaving.”

Luna lifts her head lazily, takes a look around. “What do you mean?”

“Have you ever lived anywhere else?” Stella asks. She never has. Not that she can remember anyway. She vaguely recalls the smells of the house next to Dana’s every time she passes, but only barely.

“Yeah, actually,” Luna replies. “It was awful though. Smelled like sadness. There were lots of us in tiny cages and no one ever shut up,” she recalls with a still tail and raised neck hairs. “I only had one friend, but he was taken away pretty quickly. His humans seemed really nice. Mulder says I’m a ‘rescue,’ and I think that means he took me away from the bad place. You don’t… you think he’s taking me back, do you?”

“No,” Stella assures her. “Definitely not.” They lie in silence for a while. Stella really likes Luna, which is good because they’ve spent a whole lot of time together. She doesn’t like the smell of apprehension settling in the air and walks over to nuzzle her friend’s nose. “I bet you’re just going somewhere new, maybe somewhere with your own grass like Dana has.”

“That’d be nice. But I hope it’s still close to you and Dana.”

Dana and Mulder come back empty handed and lean against the counter together, Dana resting her head on Mulder’s shoulder.

“Are you sure about this, Mulder? It’s a big step, and I know we haven’t been together for very long.” She whispers, and Stella perks her ears to listen when she smells nervousness on her human. It’s not a common smell for her.

He turns to take her face in his hands, staring into her eyes. “I’ve never been so sure of something in my life. I love you, and I can’t wait to live together.” That’s a nice smell, ‘I love you.’ Stella thinks it must be what humans say to each other instead of ‘good girl,’ because every time they say it they smell the same way. Mulder kisses Dana as she smiles at him, and Stella relaxes again, looking over at Luna.

“It’s going to be okay,” she barks to her. Luna tilts her head towards the humans as they break apart to look over at the noise. Dana comes and kneels down next to her. Stella’s tail wags–Dana’s so, so great. She always pets her and gives her treats and plays fetch and she is the best human in the whole world, probably. Mulder is pretty great too, though. She likes him a lot. He makes Dana laugh and brings good smelling flowers over and gives really good belly rubs. Plus, he brings Luna sometimes, which is fun.

“You’re particularly chatty today, aren’t you girl? Are you as excited as we are?” Dana asks, scratching behind Stella’s ears. All she can do is close her eyes and nuzzle into her pets. Feels nice, lots of happy smells from everyone today. Luna picks up on it too and scoots around the pair of them to jump around by Mulder.

“Easy, girl,” he laughs. “Easy.”

—

The only sad part of all four of them living together is that the leather couch is gone. Stella likes having Luna to play with in the grass. She doesn’t mind sharing a water bowl or toys. They get to go on group walks and jogs. The house smells a whole lot happier.

Winter comes and they all cuddle around the fireplace on cold nights. Luna barks like a mad dog when the power goes out and Stella can’t help but join. Mulder and Dana get out candles and dog treats and everything is okay. The flowers all come back for spring and Stella is itching to get outside. She pounces on Mulder and Dana every morning, sometimes succeeding in getting both of them out of bed, sometimes only one. It’s summer already and she knows it because the thunderstorms are bad again, the smells and sounds reminding her of a scarier time. She licks Mulder’s hand a little extra after the first storm of the season, remembering when he helped Dana find her last year.

Then one day when the trees start losing their leaves, there is crying in the house. One big gasp, a shriek, a cry. Stella hates the sound more than anything, hates the sound of her human in distress. She bounds through the house to find her, Luna close behind, teeth just as bared. But when they find her in the kitchen, Stella wonders if she should be scared for Mulder instead. He might have fallen, she can’t be sure, but he’s on his knee next to Dana at the kitchen table. She has one hand over her mouth and the other on her heart.

“Dana,” Mulder says with tears in his eyes. Stella and Luna pause, uncertain. “I have found in you something I never thought I would: a partner, in the truest sense of the word. You are my touchstone, my constant. You keep me honest, you–” He rests his head on her leg and takes a shaky breath. Dana takes another gasping breath herself and tilts his chin back up at her. “You make me a whole person, Dana,” he continues. “I can’t imagine being anywhere but by your side for the rest of my life, and I’m just hoping that you’ll–”

“Yes,” she interrupts. “Of course I will, Mulder. I’m forever yours.”

Stella and Luna look at each other, their tails wagging though they don’t know why. Mulder takes something shiny out of a box and it sparkles on Dana’s finger before he stands and scoops her up in one swift motion, spinning her around, her feet dangling in the air.

“What’s happening? What’s happening?” Luna barks, excitedly trying to get in on the action. Stella follows behind, nearly knocking Mulder off balance. He puts Dana down and kisses her, both smiling and crying at the same time. There’s so much going on, Stella has no idea how to feel until Dana bends down and wraps her arms around her.

“We owe a lot of credit to these guys, don’t you think?” She says, rubbing Stella’s back. “A real 101 Dalmatians story.”

Mulder is seated in the kitchen chair, Luna’s tail thumping heavily against his leg as he scratches her ears. “Yeah, we really do,” he says, still breathing heavy. He leans down to whisper in Luna’s ear so Dana can’t hear. “I’m her rescue, Lunes.”

And Stella understands.


End file.
